Comparing the Drop in Murders in D.C. and Memphis After Federalizing Law Enforcement with the Same Months a Year Earlier Under the Biden Administration

Murders vary a lot over the course of a year. Before Trump intervened, Memphis had the nation’s fourth-highest murder rate among cities with more than 100,000 residents, while D.C. ranked 11th.

Trump took federal control of D.C.’s policing on August 11, 2025. Comparing September through December 2025 with the same four months in 2024—the final four full months of the Biden administration—murders plunged 64%, from 63 to 23. At the same time, D.C.’s population rose slightly by 0.34% from 691,310 on July 1, 2024 to 693,645 on July 1, 2025.

Trump began a federal law enforcement intervention in Memphis on September 29, 2025. Murders there fell 42%, from 50 during October through December 2024 to 29 during the same months in 2025. Memphis’ population fell by 0.7% from 614,222 on July 1, 2024 to 609,647 on July 1, 2025.

These drops are much larger than the 18% national drop in murders, and indicate that there likely was an additional benefit from the federalization of law enforcement. The drop in D.C. was 3.5 times more than the national drop and in Memphis was 2.33 times greater.

Overall violent crime rates also plunged, in D.C. by 23% and in Memphis by 47%.